Audience interpretation and reception in advertising

Overview

Dominant-hegemonic reading of the Tide advertisement and main methodological criticism of cultivation theory.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does Hall's reception theory claim?

   Model answer

   Hall argues that producers encode meanings and audiences decode them. The meaning a text achieves depends on the decoding as well as the encoding.

2. 2

   How might a reader take an oppositional reading of an advertisement?

   Model answer

   A reader can recognise the intended meaning and reject it, seeing the advertisement as manipulative. The message is understood and then refused.

3. 3

   What is a dominant-hegemonic reading of the Tide advertisement?

   Model answer

   A dominant reading accepts that the product delivers a better wash and that laundry is women's work. The preferred meaning is taken exactly as intended.

4. 4

   Give a negotiated reading of Super. Human.

   Model answer

   A negotiated reading admires the athletes while questioning whether the campaign represents disabled life generally. The broad message is accepted with reservations.

5. 5

   Give an oppositional reading of the Tide advertisement.

   Model answer

   An oppositional reading rejects the assumption that a woman's worth lies in domestic results. The message is understood and then refused.

6. 6

   Why do audience readings change over time?

   Model answer

   Readings depend on the social and cultural knowledge a viewer brings. A 1950s advertisement now reads as evidence about the period rather than as persuasion.

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